JKB Fire Risk Assessors Ltd

The Law:

As from 1 October 2006 a fire risk assessment is required by law in all business premises with very few exceptions.

Responsible person:

It is a legal requirement that all businesses must have a designated responsible person. Their duty it is to arrange for a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to be carried out that will identify any fire risks to persons within the premises whether staff, contractors or visitors and/or neighbours

In most cases it will be obvious who the responsible person should be, although sometimes several people will share the responsibility. Ie. board of directors - school governors

The responsible person will be someone who has control over premises, certain areas or departments.

For example:

1. An employer with control of a workplace
2. A person with overall management of a building
3. An occupier of a premises
4. An owner of a premises
5. Landlords in multi occupancy buildings
6. The owner or manager of a business
7. Individuals/mangers/owners of businesses in multi occupied premises
8. The board of directors (may be remote from premises location)
9. School governors

Duties of the Responsible person:

The responsible person is someone who has control or a degree of control over fire safety, fire systems and fire training within the premises. The responsible person must ensure that everyone using the premises can escape safely in the event of fire

The fire risk assessment must take account of anyone who might be on or near the premises including, employees, clients/customers, visitors, members of the public and contractors. Particular attention must be paid to less able bodied persons. Under the Disability Discrimination Act you must afford access to your premises as appropriate. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire safety) Order, you must afford egress from your premises without the aid of the fire service. This will involve a management evacuation plan and/or personnel emergency evacuation plan (PEEP)

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment that will:

1. Identify the fire hazards
2. Reduce the risks of those hazards causing harm to as low as possible
3. Identify what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of all people within or near the premises if a fire does start

There are some other fire safety duties you need to comply with...

You must provide your employees with clear and relevant information on the risks to them identified by the fire risk assessment, about the measures you have taken to prevent fires and how these measures will protect them if fire breaks out

You must consult your employees (or their elected representatives) about nominating people about carrying out particular roles in connection with fire safety and about proposals for improving the fire precautions

You must before you employ a child, provide a parent with clear and relevant information on the risks to that child identified by the fire risk assessment, the measures you have put in place to prevent/protect them from fire and inform any other responsible person of any risks to that child arising from their undertaking

You must inform non-employees, such as temporary or contract workers, of the relevant risks to them and provide them with information about who are the nominated competent persons and about the safety procedures for the premises

You must co-operate and co-ordinate with other responsible persons who also have premises in the building, inform them of any significant risks you find and how you will seek to reduce/control those risks which might effect the safety of their employees

You must provide the employer of any person from an outside organisation who is working in your premises (e.g. an agency providing temporary staff) with clear and relevant information on the risks to those employees and the preventative and protective measures taken. You must also provide those employees with appropriate instructions and relevant information about the risks to them

If you are not the employer but have any control of premises which contain more than one workplace, you are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the 'Order' are complied with in those parts over which you have control

You must consider the presence of any dangerous substances and the risk this presents to relevant persons from fire

You must establish a suitable means of contacting the fire service and provide them with any relevant information about dangerous substances

You must provide appropriate information, instruction and training to your employees, during their normal working hours, about the fire precautions in your workplace, when they start working for you and from time to time throughout the period they work for you

You must ensure that the premises and any equipment provided in connection with firefighting, fire detection and warning of fire, or emergency routes and exits are covered by a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained by a competent person in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair

Your employees must co-operate with you to ensure the workplace is safe from fire and its effects, and must not do anything that will place themselves or other people at risk

You must be aware that the fire service no longer carry out 'inspections' as under the now obsolete Fire Precautions Act. They do not carry out fire risk assessments. They do carry out fire safety audits. The safety of all persons within a premises is totally with the responsible person